


That Boy is Mine

by Soviet



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BDSM, Carmilla is her own trigger warning, Developing Relationship, Dom/sub, Don't worry it gets better, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, SaveHector2019
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-10-19 05:34:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17595419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soviet/pseuds/Soviet
Summary: You weren’t that surprised that you met your boyfriend at a local midsummer dungeon party. That was hardly an uncommon story. What had been the real kicker was that, at the time, he’d been engaged to someone else.The story of how you swept Hector off his feet.





	1. Chapter 1

You weren’t that surprised that you met your boyfriend at a local midsummer dungeon party. That was hardly an uncommon story. What had been the real kicker was that, at the time, he’d been engaged to someone else.

Carmilla had been a regular at the local munches and such events hosted by your local BDSM community. She seemed pleasant enough, though you’d always had this itching feeling at the back of your neck that she was always a bit too nice, and that her compliments were more filler than genuine article. But since being in the community was already a bit of a gamble of personalities you had written her off as as simply someone you’d never bother to see outside of events.

Another thing that always struck you as a bit odd was her always referring to her fiance when talking about her exploits. She was very prideful in talking about how he was such a good sub and let her rule him with a manicured fist. However he was never at any events with her. You’d simply decided maybe he was just shy or not interested in talking about bedroom antics in public. Or maybe he was perfectly vanilla and that Carmilla merely exaggerated their home life? Frankly there were thousands of perfectly good reasons why he wouldn’t attend, but again that voiceless itch told you something was off but still not your business.

The first time you saw him you stared. He was beautiful. You were standing in the living room of the host house, previously having not been in a play mood but simply enjoying chatting with some friends who were attending. His hair had caught your eye first, the silvery sheen a rare color of someone his age, his beautifully coppery skin an even greater contrast . His attire was considerably plain considering the event, the only hint that he was definitely in the right place was the thin black collar just barely visible under his black leather coat with a lead trailing down over his white shirt into his pocket. He looked clearly out of his element, eyes downcast aside from what was necessary to confirm his name on the list with the host.  

Immediately your mind filled with possibilities. You’d approach him, gently take him by the hand and lead him to a quiet part of the house. Introductions would be barely necessary, only needing him name and a quiet “yes” before you cornered him. You wanted to expose the rest of the collar, trace it with your lips while he moaned sweetly for you. You could press your knee between his legs, grind up against him while insisting he keep his hands pinned to the wall. You didn’t need a decked out dungeon, you would take him apart in any available space, you just needed to cross the room and...

Then you saw Carmilla appear at his elbow.

Silently you cursed every known deity for your lack of luck, but your blasphemous internal screams went quiet the longer you watched. While she led him into the house the itch turned into a full body alert system. The vibe he was giving off felt more than ‘shy’. Carmilla had taken the lead from his pocket and the small smile hadn’t reached his eyes when she started introducing him to some familiar faces in the living room. He greeted them as well, you overheard snippets of polite greetings and Carmilla boasting how proud she was to finally convince her “puppy to come out to play”. He had such a sweet smile, causing the corners of his silvery blue eyes to crinkle when he laughed softly, and it made you want to just….you couldn’t even place where to start, but all options required touching him. And from your previous conversations with Carmilla, you knew she was not the sharing type.

The conversation you’d been having with your friends seemed to carry on with only the most minimal of input from you, your eyes continuing to flick over to the ‘mysterious stranger’. He made polite conversation, blushing and glancing away at certain points which caused Carmilla to grin. She was constantly touching him, brushing fingers under his chin, pressing her chest up against his arm, and though he did return some of the gestures by leaning in it didn’t feel right. Plenty of couples were here, infatuated with each other and barely keeping their hands out of each others’ pants, but there was a certain fire among them that these two didn’t seem to be firing.

You started to wonder if you were crazy, nobody else seemed to be reacting like you were. An uncomfortable newcomer was not news, neither was a guy being lead around on a leash, which ruled out your two best excuses. You had been so preoccupied with your thoughts you realized with a start you were trying to drink from an empty can. Only when you finally glanced around to see where you could toss it did you catch him look back at you. Praying your face had remained stoic otherwise, you offered a small smile and a nod. Jesus, had he noticed? If he had, he was blessedly nonchalant about it. A mirroring smile graced his features and his shoulders dropped a little. He held your gaze for a moment before he seemed to blip back into the conversation he was standing in by a small tug on his lead from a perfectly manicured hand. You’d barely managed to flick your eyes away before Carmilla noticed, pretending to be very concerned about the empty can in your hand.

When you looked back you were just in time to watch him being lead out of the room. You felt your heart jump to your throat when he glanced back again, seeming to offer a small resistance which was quickly snuffed out when she tugged enough to string him along. His eyes caught yours for a sliver of time before they disappeared around the corner, towards the dungeon. You felt your legs try to simultaneously move forward and towards the exit at once, unsure why you suddenly felt so...scared. That was enough for one evening and you’d left the party soon after. Whatever was about to happen in that room you didn’t want to see it, and you knew staying would’ve only meant the curiosity driving you mad. You’d quietly regret that decision for months to come.

Only a week later you saw him again, but under very different circumstances. You were at your day job, working the desk for a local cat shelter, the day going by exceedingly slow when the sound of the bells by the front door caught your attention. “Hello! Welcome to-”

Those crystalline eyes were impossible to forget, they caught yours and you both mirrored an expression that you’d run into more than once. The “oh shit, I remember you but with less clothing on and we are in no place to talk about it” expression. Thankfully this wasn’t the first time this happened to you, so you quickly returned to the customer service smile trying  to exude as much calming aura as you could manage. “Hi there! Were you looking to adopt today?”

The beaming smile you got in return felt like spring, and you hated that that was the first thing to pop into your mind. His whole demeanor visibly relaxed as he approached the counter, giving a small wave as he crossed the floor. “Not today. I was actually wondering if you took applications for volunteers. I need service hours to apply for a graduate program.” He leaned slightly on the counter, tilting his head slightly, eyes giving a sweep over the wall behind you which held all of the pictures of the recently adoptable furballs. “Though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted.”

“Trust me, I think the same thing every day,” you chuckled, earning another smile that you tried to ignore by rolling back in your chair to a cabinet of forms to your left. “We’re always looking for volunteers though! What’s your availability like?”

“Daily. I’m waiting for the semester to start so I thought now would be the time to do it.” He took the form when you handed it to him, setting in on the counter to read over. It was nothing complicated, consent to have a small background run to make sure you hadn't been convicted of abuse, a mailing address, room to list previous pet experience, that sort of thing.

“What program are you looking into?” you asked, taking advantage of the fact he was busy reading to look over him again in the brighter lighting. His hair had consistent waves throughout, cut short enough to accent his sharp jawline. His lips were shapely, quirked down into a resting frown.

“Veterinary medicine,” he answered, hitting the pause button on your thought train that was wondering exactly how kissable those lips were. “I already have the undergraduate degree finished, so all that’s left is the doctorate.” He glanced up from the paperwork and you beamed at him, offering a pen which he took with a small nod. “Are you a tech here?”

“Oh no, just the receptionist. I love animals but never did have the grasp on the biology...stuff.” That was the nicest way to avoid having to admit you’d failed out of your course, and had settled on getting an associates degree from the community college in accounting instead. At least that was a guarantee. No vets really wanted to deal with that side of the business. Plus you were still allowed to help out and cuddle kitten on your breaks so you figured you’d still won as far as the system went.

He chuckled again, starting to fill out the information. “The biology stuff is what seems to turn most away. But it’s good of you to still help regardless. I’m sure they appreciate you here.”

You hummed in agreement, saving and closing some of the documents on your computer you’d been working on. If he was signing up already you wanted to be able to give him a tour before anyone else freed up. Once he was done you collected the documents, giving them half of a glance over to make sure nothing was missing. “Perfect! If you’re free now I could give you a tour around…” you glanced at the top of the page for his name, “Hector?”

“Sure, that’d be great, thanks.” He smiled again and you couldn't help but return it. Damn, why did a snake like Carmilla have to find such a catch for herself?

The tour took longer than one usually would, by more than a few hours. You introduced him to the tech’s on staff, who greeted him warmly and were interested in which school he was planning on attending and what experience he had already. He seemed particularly tickled at the FIV and feline leukemia rooms, gushing about how so many shelters would simply turn their cases away or put them down but that your shelter was so kind as to take them in and give them the care anyway. The cats themselves loved him, even the senior cats who were more reserved and sometimes full of swipes for any passerby would approach him. Instead they rubbed across his legs and yeowling for his affection. You stood back and watched him give each member attention, finding their perfect scratch spots seemingly by magic, cooing over them and chuckling when one particularly overweight boy tried to barrel him over by jumping across his shoulders. You couldn’t help but notice this seemed like a much better environment for him, surrounded by animals of the four legged variety as opposed to the ones that had been at the dungeon.

“I think he might like me,” Hector observed, standing up with the huge tabby draped across his shoulders like a shawl. “What do you think? Is it my color?” He nudged the cat’s tail across his shoulders and gave a quarter turn, tossing his hair back like a diva. “Too much for the workplace?”

You choked a laugh, rising hand to try and stifle the giggles that bubbled in your chest. “Never, though I don’t know if orange stripes will ever be back in season,” you replied with a mock haughty air.

Hector feigned a groan of complaint before snickering when the cat picked his head up to rub against his cheek. “Shame, though I suppose I could lead the trend.” He gently unfurled the furry monster from his neck, placing him on a nearby perch to preen and lean into the apologetic pets he offered after. “This is a lovely place, I look forward to coming in tomorrow.”

“You really weren’t kidding when you said daily, huh?”

He shook his head, following you out of the room and watching as you carefully latched it shut behind him. “No. I really do want to make sure I have the hours necessary before I begin class. And my other job takes place mostly in the evening, so that shouldn’t interfere with my coming in.”

“Your other job?” you asked, leading him back towards the entrance before halting and giving an apologetic smile. “Er, if you don’t mind sharing.”

His soft chuckle eased your nerves and he fell instep beside you, more at ease than when he'd arrived. “Not at all. I do editing work for a friend. He’s an author of sorts, and he can’t afford a licensed editor yet so he pays me a fraction of the price for the same amount of work. Not that I mind, and it’s something I can stop during the semester.”

You made easy small talk all the way to the door, stalling to stand in the frame as he stepped outside and held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he walked towards his car. It had been only after noon when he’d arrived, now the sun was starting to set and was hitting him at the most striking angle. The light glinted off his hair, his skin complimented by the red rosy glow, but as dumbstruck as you were by how lovely he looked basking in it’s warmth you couldn’t help but feel a sadness to it. He stared off for a moment before turning to you and giving you a smile that caused your pulse to stumble. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

You nodded, digging your nails into your leg to try and remind yourself not to look eager. This man was taken… “Yes, I’m here every day except Monday and Tuesdays. I look forward to seeing you around.” That much you could allow, a genuine compliment and a quiet wish. The answer seemed to be what he wanted to hear and he grinned before giving a wave goodbye. You waved back, ducking back inside before you could see him turn out of the parking lot. You still had to enter his information in the system, finish everything else you’d been working on prior to his arrival.

Then, you decided, you were going to call your best friend and meet her for drinks. You needed to do something about this bubbling set of nerves in your stomach before tomorrow arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

The after-work drinks had done absolutely jack all to help with your nerves. What you had imagined would happen was a casual night out of a chick flick mutual girl talk session. What it turned into was you whining into empied glass after emptied glass of gin and tonic at the bar while your friend sat next to you and patiently let you rant. Maybe you were more pent up than you had imagined.

“And he loves animals, Sypha,” you groaned for the twelfth time, drawing out her name. “It’s so fucking unfair! Even Wayland, that stupid fat cat, loved him.”

“The orange one?” Sypha perked up, turning to look at you with a side smile. You nodded miserably, staring up at the ceiling to will the stubborn bubbling tears back into your eyes. You knew you weren’t necessarily sad, but drinking tended to make you weepy. 

“That one. I still have scratches on my arm but he lept right around Hector’s shoulders and cuddled him and he wore him like a scarf!” You both dissolved into giggles at that, Sypha’s hand jumping up to partially cover her mouth.

You gave a huff and looked at her. She was so pretty, you’d always thought that. Friends since diapers, even though she had gone to travel abroad for school you’d managed to keep in touch over the years. She studied linguistics, teaching English in many different countries and bringing back more stories than you could hope to keep track of. However, 8 months or so ago when she’d taken a break to come home and save up her pennies she’d found herself smitten with a personal trainer at the local gym. Two weeks later he wasn’t her trainer anymore but that was because the gym had a policy against dating clients. So she’d simply taken to getting what she called private lessons, though from what you knew about her all of her neighbors knew when they occured. Two months after that they’d both fallen even harder for the “ungodly attractive” physical therapist Trevor went to when he nearly tore his ACL. You’d watched that song and dance with much glee. It went from relaxing at their apartment and hearing them trying to justify to each other that “it’s not that I love you any less but just have you seen his ass” to getting pulled aside to be asked individually if you thought this guy would even be open to the idea of dating two people at once. As it turned out all problems were solved when the guy in question just straight up invited them for a coffee date after their last session with him. You had a feeling they hadn’t been as subtle as they had imagined. Now they were your favorite disaster trio, perfectly functioning independent adults when alone, while seeming to combine all of their brain cells into one when together. You knew Sypha missed traveling as she used to, but since she’d started teaching ESL classes at local school that seemed to keep her mind off it. Plus her two stupidly hot boyfriends probably helped.

“How come both your guys were available when you met them but the ONE that has caught my interest in…” You trailed off, gesturing vaguely with your hand to indicate a clearly long stretch of time. Sypha shrugged, giving you a sympathetic smile before setting her first empty glass of the evening down on the counter.

“No idea. But they were hardly easy to tie down. Did you know I had to give Trevor my number three times before he got it right? He put it in his phone wrong three times while I was standing right there! Three different days!”

“Why didn’t you check?” you asked, an eyebrow popping up towards your hairline.

“I didn’t think I’d have to,” she insisted, blushing a bit and shoving a stray lock of coppery hair behind her ear. “Adrian might have been easier, just because he told us he was interested. Trevor nearly dropped a weight on his foot when I reached to pick up-” Sighing she tossed her head, putting her right elbow on the counter so she could rest her head in her palm and turn to face you. “So, what’re you going to do?”

You groaned, scrubbing a hand over your face. “I can’t...avoid him. I guess I’ll just go to work, see him, talk to him, and try not to eat my foot when he smiles.”

Sypha rolled her eyes. “You’re so dramatic. I heard the best thing you can do with crushes is to get closer to them.” You gave her a stink eye and she dropped her hand, learning towards you. “I’m serious! You learn what they’re like and then maybe you learn something about them that breaks the spell. Maybe he’s got some terrible habit that you can’t stand and then you won’t be interested.”

“And if I find out he’s absolutely perfect?”

“Then you become a homewrecker I guess,” she shrugged, waving off the bartender when he came by to offer refills. “You said you thought something was wrong though, with his fiance?”

You grimaced hearing the word out loud but it was unavoidable. “Yeah...maybe I’m just trying to see something there though.You know, convince myself he’s a possibility.” 

Sypha gave a hum, rocking her head back and forth a few times in thought. “You’ve always had a good sense about things like that though. Maybe you should trust yourself more.”

You considered this, picking up your glass to swirl the ice cubes around. Maybe. But first you had to make it through tomorrow. God it was going to be a long week.   
  


You couldn’t have been more wrong. The week absolutely flew by. The first day was admittedly a little awkward for you. You’d spent the morning practicing your best “friendly but not super interested” face in the mirror only to fall immediately into a genuine grin when he walked in. Blessedly he returned the expression, eyes crinkling at the corners with a laugh in his tone when he apologized for being ten minutes earlier than expected.

You dealt with small flares of jealousy that the vets were the ones who trained him in the daily tasks for the volunteers. Every additional paper stack or miscalculation felt like a personal slight against you from God. But over the course of the day you exchanged snippets of conversation, discussing at length the personality quirks of each furry resident. Hector only seemed to brighten during the day. He wasn’t a social butterfly but he was kind to anyone who asked him how things were going and he didn’t hesitate to confirm details to make sure he was doing everything right. There was a small part of you that was grateful most of the staff here was already married because otherwise the whispered gossip about the attractive new guy would’ve driven you insane. 

The best moment of the day was when your boss, Maria, offered for you to take Hector to a cafe down the block for lunch. It was nearly two by that time and she commented that neither of you had seemed to look up from your work long enough to realize you should eat. You weren’t sure if you should thank her or throttle her. But when she waved a crisp twenty dollar bill if your face you gave a lopsided grin and snapped it up. Maybe what Sypha had said was right. You’d have lunch, you’d learn some horrible trait he had, and that’d be that.

Turns out you were wrong about that too. He’d blushed so sweetly when you’d invited him to take a break you thought your heart would stop. When you’d waved the money in the air, insisting it was already covered he laughed. “How can I say no?” 

It became clear he was much more comfortable in less crowded settings. In the quiet corner of the cafe he only continued to bloom before your eyes, getting more animated when he spoke, adding gestures with his hands. When you’d happened to steer the conversation into animal related law that was when the sparks really flew. He got firm, his eyebrows narrowing in frustration over what gaps he knew existed in the system, examples of cases that had fallen flat with lack of evidence. But even when he had borderline turned talking into lecturing you couldn’t help the soft smile on your face. Passion suited him. His hair whipping about his cheeks and highlighting his jawline, his blue eyes sparkling, his body moving with a natural grace that you wanted to feel under your hands. 

Briefly the memory of how you’d met him flickered into your mind and you prayed you didn’t blush. If he looked this pretty talking, you could only imagine how he’d look tied up, straining, begging, eyes completely glazed over in need. You loathed to imagine Carmilla drawing those responses out of him, but quietly thanked yourself for not staying around that night to watch.

Thinking of, your eyebrows furrowing a bit, she hadn’t come up at all. You’d think basic information like being engaged would’ve come up at least once. Your expression however seemed to be misinterpreted as Hector stalled mid sentence and seemed to catch himself. 

“Sorry. I got carried away. I didn’t mean to lecture you.” His shoulders slumped a little and you found yourself bolting upright. When had you slouched over to rest your head in your hands?

“Oh no! Not at all!” You insisted, hands up and forcing a laugh. “I was just thinking that it’s nice you care so much. Y’know, people talking about their passions, it’s …” Wildly attractive. “Nice.” You cringed internally at your word choice, but that seemed to alleviate the concern on Hector’s face which softened up to a smile again. You couldn’t help but love what that smile did to your insides.

Somehow this became the routine. At lunchtime you and Hector would go to the cafe, sometimes bringing your own food but always getting something to support the owners. You’d talk, get very into it, then realise you needed to run back to be on time. Twice you’d even raced, you won both times. You’d both enter laughing, breathing a little heavy, and go back about your work. When it was your effective weekend you found yourself sitting anxiously at home. You finished all of your chores at record speeds and left yourself with nothing else to do but think of excuses to go to work and see if he was there. Sypha texted you a few times to check in. You’d responded in mild distress that getting closer seemed to be only making things worse but she insisted you were fine. And Sypha was rarely wrong, the only exception being her sense of what furniture could fit in a given space.

When the final weeks of summer crept around the corner you felt like you were being smothered. You hadn’t attended any more dungeon parties, even your community friends were checking in on you to make sure nothing horrible had happened. You’d just found yourself so...comfortable. You weren’t craving attention as much, you’d found that in Hector. Which, much to your bitter realization, was about to change. Surely his classes would start soon, he’d probably quit early so he’d have time to get himself together. You would keep going to work but your pattern would be broken and that attention would be gone again. His presence was like a balm, it both calmed you and heated you up. 

You’d avoided bringing up Carmilla this entire time, somehow, and he’d never brought it up. But it was something always in the back of your mind. Especially when you’d woken up more than once, damp between your legs and panting. Damn you’d fallen hard and you knew with a pang of guilt that you’d been flirting whether you were conscious of it or not. Touching his arm in passing, offering books for him to borrow, and he’d smiled that sweet smile which made you feel weak and never turned you down once. He was engaged though, you’d even known the woman before knowing him. Either he was oblivious to your advances or he was just being nice and was secretly waiting for when he wouldn’t have to deal with you anymore. That thought had made you shed frustrated tears into your pillow and break more than one coffee mug.

On the final day you’d nearly called in sick. But you knew you’d regret that even worse than having to say goodbye. You’d scrubbed your face raw to try and hide the tear stains, doubled on your waterproof primer, and hustled out the door as usual. In the back of your mind you were running your own pep rally. Today was going to be good, you’d have a good last lunch, you’d have more good conversations, and you’d maybe even get his contact info so you could have a good coffee meetup in the future. Good, good, good. Great even. You didn’t believe it yet. Thankfully you came in to the shelter to have a blue screening computer at your desk to keep you occupied for the morning.

When he hadn’t shown up ten minutes past his usual time you got anxious. You kept glancing at the clock in the corner of your screen and frowning. Hector was never late. Not once. His car battery had died and he’d run in exactly one minute early having left it to be towed and taken to the shop without him. 

“Is Hector not coming today?” You jumped a good foot in your chair, nails digging into the desk and gulping a sudden rush of air. You whipped your head to the side, looking up at Maria who was not startled by your reaction but had a similarly worried look on her features. “I could have sworn he’d said today was his last day. Was it yesterday?”

“No, he’d said today,” you replied. You checked the clock again. Twenty minutes. You quietly cursed not having asked for his number already, you could at least asked him where he was by a text or something. God, what if he was in an accident? Stabbed? Food poisoning? Struck by lightning? You ran your hands through your hair and shook your head. No, probably just late. He was human, humans were late sometimes. But your gut was in knots. Something was wrong.

Your boss walked away from your side to the front door, taking a glance outside. You were quietly mad you couldn’t have done the same without looking like a puppy waiting for his master. With a jolt you remembered that his volunteer signup sheet had his contact info and you nearly toppled out of your chair wheeling back to dig for it. Maria stopped you mid way through by calling out and waving a hand back at you. 

“Oh, there he is now. I see him getting out of a cab. Must’ve had car trouble again, poor thing.” 

She didn’t wait by the door for him, instead turning to go back to the stockroom. You felt yourself bouncing in your chair, a smile lighting up your face, willing yourself to remain seated and calm damn it. But when another thirty seconds passed and the door didn’t open your inner pep rally had turned into a solid cheer of “fuck it” and you flew to the door. You swung it open, scaring the hell out of Hector who was standing just outside it with his arm still raised reaching for the handle. 

“Hey! I was-” You felt like time had stopped. Your smile quickly dropped into a gape, eyebrows flying to your hairline and your hand clenching on the door handle. 

Hector, beautiful Hector, was without his morning smile and glowing eyes. His hair was a mess, having been roughly shaped back to something resembling combed. His cheeks were scrubbed raw. He inhaled a quick breath before quickly averting his eyes down. You were faster. 

Dropping the door to slam shut behind you your hands darted to either side of his face and you turned him to look at you. His right eye was swollen, purple and red bruising spread across the socket and part of his cheekbone. You were acutely aware of the blood rushing in your ears, your upper lip tensing into a snarl, and your hands starting to quiver. You held Hector’s face firm against his small attempt to turn away again. His shoulders slumped and he sighed, focusing his eyes somewhere near your collarbones while you gently brushed his hair back to inspect him. You were ready to scream but the shame on his face forced you to breathe instead. His hands came up and settled gently on your wrists, not removing them but holding them. Steadying them. Even in this moment sweet Hector was worried about someone other than himself.

You pressed your lips into a flat line, released Hector’s face to turn your hands and take hold of his. You closed your eyes and lowered your joined hands down so they hung between you. After counting to ten you opened your eyes, willing your voice not to shake even as you felt tears rush to your eyes and spill over. 

“Hector, what happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done it, I've become the exact type of writer I can't stand. The one that thinks cliffhangers are acceptable in this day and age. But we'll be helping our boy out in Chapter 3! Pre warning, Hector is going to talk about what happened/what has been happening in Chapter 3. I'm hoping to write it in such a way that anyone who wants to avoid the most direct talking about domestic violence can skip it and hop back in for Chapter 4.
> 
> Major thank you again to NyamiRose for beta reading, and for being the first person to let me know how terrible I am for ending this chapter where I did.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Hector is gonna talk about some of the abusive shit that happened and what lead up to the black eye. That's only in roughly the first half if you want to skip down a bit.

Patience had never been your strongest suit. You focused on holding his hands, not crushing them and not shaking, while inside you were screaming. Murderous images were flashing before your eyes, most of them involving intricate ways of removing each of Carmilla’s limbs. Then his thumbs barely moved to squeeze yours, snapping your attention back to reality and your eyes to his.

“We should probably talk inside.” His voice was hushed, and he gestured with a nod towards the very exposed parking lot. You didn’t trust yourself to vocalize a response, so you lead him by the hand inside the shelter. Thankfully there was no one waiting in the front lobby which gave you a moment to think. Where to talk? Hector was already doing the same as you, glancing around but keeping his head tilted to try and hide his bruised eye behind a curtain of hair. You felt your cheeks flush with anger, breathing through your nose so you could grit your teeth. You could tear Carmilla apart with a pair of wooden chopsticks. But first, Hector.

“The senior room?” you asked, voice much softer than you’d expected. His blue eyes flickered to yours before nodding. He started to walk towards the hall but you gave his hand a little tug, causing him to freeze. “I...I’m going to tell Maria to...make sure nobody comes in.” Fragmented phrases were all you could parse out but he seemed to understand. A shadow of his usual smile graced his features and he went ahead of you, fingers holding contact as long as possible before letting go.

Once you saw him turn into the senior cat room you felt like time slowed. You bolted to your desk, rapid-fire saving everything and closing them immediately after. You set the “Please ring the bell for assistance” sign on the desk, forgetting to put the bell out, before you practically threw yourself into the storage room. Maria heard your shoulder collide with the door frame, her red curls whipping around her face when she turned. 

“What’s wrong?” She nearly dropped the box of spare blankets in her hands but you managed to steady it for her. It gave you a moment to think of what the hell to tell her. How much would Hector want her to know? You must’ve had a panicked look about you because Maria set the box firmly on the floor and reached up to pat your arm. “You take care of it then, where will you be?   


“Senior room,” you breathed, shoulders slumping and another few treacherous tears sparkling at the corners of your eyes. Maria was just like that. Solution first, causation later. You supposed that came with years of emergency vet training. 

Maria nodded, looking at the schedule sheet on the wall. “That room’s been cleaned already, I’ll keep people out. If you need to run just go, I’ll take care of it.” If you weren’t already bolting back out the door nodding like a broken game animation you’d have hugged her, but your focus was narrowed down to two things. Getting to Hector and trying to dry your face unsuccessfully with the collar of your shirt.

You took two deep breaths outside the door to the private room. Your logic brain was trying desperately to make its way to front of the line. You needed to be calm, you needed to be put together enough that you could help. If you went batshit crazy now you wouldn’t be at your halfway decent, let alone best. You rapped twice on the door before opening it. “It’s me. Maria said we’ll be left alone.”

The residents of the room had clearly picked up on the fact something had happened. Hector was seated cross legged on the floor, the cushion from one of the two available chairs tucked under him. Scattered around him was every cat, featuring Wayland, parked in the center of his lap and purring loud enough to hear from the door. Or maybe that was the combined effort of all of the felines combined, leaning on his back, pressed up on his legs, or butting their heads against Hector’s arms which were trying with little success to give them all attention at once.

He had nodded when you entered, giving a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I didn’t expect to cause trouble this early.”

“You’re not trouble, Hector.” You thanked every star by name that your outside voice had relayed that at normal volume, because in your head you’d wanted to scream it. You stepped around the impromptu cloud of cats to sit in the other available chair, scooting away from the wall so you were in shoulder touching distance. Taking another deep breath you chewed on your lower lip. Hector was now looking up at you. His eyes were still red, but the sharp blue color looked a bit clearer. He opened his mouth, shut it, and looked down again. This was clearly a conversation he wanted to have by the way he kept taking breaths through his nose, tensing up his shoulders before lowering them again with a sigh. You didn’t want to force it, but your stupid mouth was moving before you could stop it.

“It was Carmilla, wasn’t it?” 

He tensed at her name but nodded. “I knew the two of you had met before,” he said, scritching Wayland under his white speckled chin. “But I didn’t know if you were friends.”

“No, we’re not,” you growled, again closing your eyes to calm down. Easy. Make Hector safe first. Tear her face of later. “I knew her through the munches and that’s it. And that you’re her….”

“Puppy,” he finished for you, the corner of his mouth twisting to a grimace. 

You shook your head sharply, finding an aversion to the word yourself. “Fiance.”

“Oh. Yes that’s...yes, that’s right.” He blushed a little, head tilting forward until most of his features were hidden behind his hair again. “I’m sorry, I’m not sure where to start. There was a lot leading up to this.”

“Wherever you want. I’m not going anywhere.” You inched forward in your chair until you could just reach Wayland. The little furry bastard usually gave you grief, and battle wounds, but maybe because of the stressed vibes Hector was giving of he let you scratch his head a little before putting back against Hector’s chest. “Or you don’t have to talk, but…” You swallowed, the glance he gave you so raw, his eyes looking like pools of water with the way tears threatened to spill again. “I need to help, so whatever you need.” 

A few tears succeeded in steaming down his face, but a small wrinkling around his eyes accompanied the smile followed. “Thank you. I’d forgotten what it’s like to have friends.” 

“You must have them,” you insisted, migrating off the chair completely to sit near him, a few irritated mews followed as two of the cats moved to give you space. You couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to get close to Hector. The idea that he would be lonely was awful. “I mean, more than...me.”

He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “A few. But I haven’t been in touch with them for a long time. Carmilla made our...relationship a priority. It made seeing them difficult, since they didn’t get along.” 

You chewed your lip, wanting to hiss about that being a clear sign of a bad partner but choking it down. The last thing to do in these situations was to blame the victim for not seeing the warning signs. Victim. The word stung to even think. Hector didn’t deserve that, he wasn’t, he was just….hurt. A long haired grey female brought you back with a paw on your arm. You folded your legs to make a place for her, where she eagerly settled and stretched out, belly begging for pets. 

Hector watched you stroke her, giving a soft chuckle. “Amazing how intuitive they are, isn’t it? Their lives are so much more simple, and yet they seem to know exactly what we’re thinking.”

You gave a small laugh in return, eyes meeting his again. Maybe if this cat knew the murderous intent that was boiling under your stomach she wouldn’t be so keen to cuddle. “They’re better than people sometimes,” you offered, which he agreed to with a hum. 

Once Hector started talking you were grateful he hardly paused, it kept you from interjecting venomous thoughts. Right now he needed you to just listen.

The possessiveness had started early in their relationship. He’d always been a bit of a loner, finding it difficult to get along with the noisier crowds at University. When she’d taken an interest in him she’d hounded him for attention and their mutual acquaintances had congratulated him on attracting her. After a few months of studying together, getting meals together, and spending weekends together Hector had more or less found himself labeled as her boyfriend. He hadn’t minded so much, she didn’t affect his studies and her company was pleasant enough when he had free time. The thought had settled into his mind that this was just what a relationship was, nothing storybook about it, just two adults cohabiting together.

Gradually the pool of mutual acquaintances dried up, as Carmilla turned down invitations to outings so they could spend the evenings together instead. Hector would only hear they’d been invited days later when he would offer an apology and an empty promise to see them next time. Soon enough there weren’t any more invitations. 

Hector had realized a little too late that maybe he wasn’t as happy as he thought he could be. He was working, they had rented a small townhouse together, the day to day not changing much. It almost felt like the engagement ring had just appeared on her finger, though the evidence was clear in his bank account. It was one of the few assets he’d kept separate. Carmilla had initially complained, suggesting that if they were really an item that they should be sharing everything. When Hector had voiced against it, wanting to keep his credit reliable for when he applied for his doctorate, she had brushed it away and never spoke of it again. However she always did give a dirty look when he’d pay for things with his bank card, or mention how they could revisit the topic after he graduated. In an attempt to appease her he’d stopped locking his phone, proof that it wasn’t a matter of trust between them. That had kept the status quo, until this last summer.

The fighting had started boiling after he’d told her about signing up for the volunteer work. He’d told her more than once about needing hours but she’d feigned shock all the same. Insisted that what he was committing was too much and that he should be at home more. She was busy at work, who would take care of the chores? It was only fair for Hector to manage everything since he was by no means the breadwinner of the house. But Hector insisted. He told her it was because he had to, what he kept in his heart was that he wanted to. He loved getting to see the animals, as Carmilla had forbidden any pets in her house. The staff had been the first real human contact he’d made of his own accord. Carmilla’s friends were nice enough, but knowing she’d already painted a very specific picture of him left him feeling like there was a set protocol of how he was allowed to act. That wasn’t the case for the shelter, he was comfortable there. He’d chosen to be there. And so every day after he’d left the shelter smiling he’d rushed home to try and do what he could to keep Carmilla appeased. The efforts were in vain. She would arrive home early sometimes, complaining about things being left unfinished around the house or dinner not being ready. Even when Hector was sure there couldn’t be anything left she would then resort to lamenting that all the time at the shelter made him stink and it sickened her. It was trivial, petty, but stung regardless.

“You know I’m not going to be able to be chill around her in the future right?” you interjected, fingernails biting into your fists. “Who the ever loving fuck is that petty?”

Hector paused and forced a laugh, straightening his back out to the audio of a few loud pops. “She is. Maybe if I had confronted her about it sooner, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point.”

“It’s not your job to fix her.” You mimicked Hector in a stretch, carefully lifting the grey cat from your lap while you straightened your legs for a moment and then re-assumed the cuddling position. “I doubt it would have done much anyway, it sounds like she’s always been like this.”

Hector gave a small nod reaching up to tuck the hair on the unbattered side of his face behind his ear. “It feels obvious now. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. I thought that if things just remained as they were it wouldn’t change or get worse. That maybe I was making it worse by trying to change, that it was…” He trailed off, the cat on his lap giving a disgruntled huff before jumping from his lap. Hector legs bent up and he wrapped his arms around them, resting his chin on his knees. “That it was my fault.”

It was taking cosmic levels of self restraint to keep yourself from leaping forward to hug him. But forcing contact was probably the worst idea and would have been more for your benefit than his. Hector’s brows furrowed, his shoulders bunched up near his ears, his legs folded tight to his chest. It seemed like he was hoping by sheer force of will to make himself smaller. 

You shifted slowly, extended a hand out to just rest on his shoulder. He startled under your touch but did not move away. Taking that as a good sign you scooted closer until you could have brushed arms if you lent in, careful to not dump the cat out of your lap as you went. Hector lifted his eyes, turned his head to watch you approach. Once settled you met his eyes, trying to distill all your thoughts into one look. He waited patiently for you to speak, though the tilt in his brows suggested he was starting to give into doubt. Maybe he was wondering if he should have told you anything at all, if he was asking too much, if he had overstepped a boundary. Finally your eyes forced themselves shut when they dried out and you sighed. 

“It wasn't your fault.” You had already engraved the epitaph on Carmilla's tombstone in your mind:  _ Here lies the cantankerous bitch, hopefully we all forget her soon. _ But you felt the rage detour when you saw Hector's eyes brighten, a soft smile pulling at his lips. God you had it bad. You wanted to scream about how he didn’t deserve this, any of it, but starting small was probably best. 

“Is...that what caused…?” You bit your cheek, giving a small nod toward his right eye. “Because she didn’t like you coming here?” When he nodded you couldn’t help the pit that grew in your stomach. You’d been enraptured by this summer, bounding between racing like kids and flirting like you hadn’t felt compelled to in years. Hector...Hector had been having to go home each night to a positively poisonous captor. Guilt must’ve spread across your face like a wave because suddenly Hector was moving. He straightened his legs, turning on his hip to put his hands on your arms. 

“This wasn’t your fault,” he said firmly, the tone making your eyes widen a little. For a second his voice had gone deeper, which while helping soothe the worry lines from your face also sent a small tingle down your spine. “This...this was Carmilla.” For a couple moments more he held your arms, before his hands slowly slid down to reach your hands which were stilled mid pet on the grey cat’s back. She seemed to sense it was time to scoot and carefully slipped out between your fingers. You looked down at your fingers which were folding naturally around his. When you looked back up through your eyelashes you could see he was watching you, eyebrows pulled together in concern. You gave a small puff of a laugh and offered him a smile which immediately got a mirrored response from him.

“It happened this morning?”

Again Hector nodded, closing his cerulean eyes. “When I left the house to come here, I saw the car was missing from its place. I ran inside, worried someone had stolen it.” His eyes dropped down to focus on your hands, carefully turning your hands this way and that. “But Carmilla wasn’t surprised. She told me she’d lent it to some friend who had needed it for the day. Which she has every right to do, it is hers.” 

You squeezed his fingers tightly in the middle of his ministrations, which got a small chuckle out of him without his having to see the purely appalled expression on your face. 

“I thought the same as you though. I told her fine, that I would hire a cab. She told me not to waste money, that you wouldn’t notice if I didn’t show up again.” He paused, a blush creeping on his cheekbones. “Not you, exactly. Everyone. I’m sorry.” 

“I know what you meant, it’s okay.” You kept your eyes fixed firmly on his hands again, willing the color on your own face to subside. 

“As I was saying...right. I told her I had promised, and she told me that didn’t matter. We... If I’m honest I’m not sure entirely what happened next. We were both yelling, I was angry, frustrated by the last few months. I realized how suffocated I felt and she told me I was imagining it, like a child.” His fingers were twisting with yours again and you felt the heat start to rise from them. You could hear the blood in your ears again. Carefully you extracted one of your hands so you could sandwich one of his hands between the other. You rubbed your thumb back and forth over his hand, trying to keep breathing while he spoke. “When I turned to leave, she grabbed my arm. She threw me against the wall.” 

Both of your breathing stopped, eye flicking up to meet the other’s. 

“I didn’t...I was caught off guard. When she...pulled her arm back, I thought briefly that no one would believe me if I stopped her. She would be able to convince anyone it was my fault. So I didn’t…” His eyes watered, the bruised one starting to swell large enough that the blue iris was nearly hidden. “She told me to go, she didn’t want to see me until I’d...calmed down. So I came here.” He forced a laugh and you heard yourself nearly choke on a sob. You’d kill her. 

Again you found your hands reaching for his face and this time he didn’t turn away. You gently squeezed his cheeks between your palms, working to unclench your jaw as you willed yourself to stay dry eyed. Or at least less watery than the Niagara Falls. 

“You need to leave.” 

“I want to,” he insisted, his arm hands reaching up to cover yours, holding them against his face. “I’m not sure where to start.” 

“We’ll figure it out.” You could feel all of your mental gears spinning towards actions, anything to be doing something towards helping him. Touching him was wonderful, your heart skipped when his good eye ran up the length of your arm to your shoulder. His brows were tucked in thought again. Maybe he was doing the same. Action first, emotions later. “How much stuff do you have?”

“Not much, at least things that are mine alone. I don’t care about leaving most of it, I don’t want to fight her for things.”

“You could.”

“No, I don’t care about some furniture and electronics. Everything that I care about is separate, in the den.” 

“Should we rent a van?”

Hector worried his lip for a moment, giving a small shake of his head. “I don’t know where I’d go, where to put it.”

“With me.” You’d said it before your brain could catch up and offer an opinion on how perfectly stupid of an idea that was. The man was trying to leave an abusive relationship, asking him to move in-what the actual fuck were you thinking?! “Just until you have somewhere else.” You rushed the words out, panicking a little under the wide eyed stare he was giving you. “I don’t have a ton of room but we could- you could get a storage locker for most things and then you can just crash on my couch until something else lines up! Maybe one of your friends, you could get back in touch with them?”

Somewhere in your rush to justify the suggestion your hands had pulled away from his face, twisting in your lap while you tried to look anywhere but his eyes. Slowly Hector’s hands lowered down from where they’d been hovering near his face. He was watching you again, much like the other cats in the room. Waiting, sussing you out. You prayed you came across as kind, at maximum generous, and not like a lunatic. Or god forbid, like Carmilla. Manipulative of even the worst situation. 

“I...don’t have a lot of options. If you’re sure then, I’d be grateful”. 

You were positive anyone could have heart your heart slam brakes inside your chest. Oh. Well then. “Of course I’m sure!” When Hector started to chuckle, his body easing again, your heart revved back to a breakneck speed.

“Thank you. I will…” He trailed off, heaving a sigh. His accumulated cat blanket started to stir around him, a few moving back to their favorite beds in the room while a few simply shuffled back to sit and watch as Hector shook out his legs. “I will need to prepare, get some boxes. If I can get most of it done today then-”

“But-”

“She should be at work until this evening,” he assured you, hoisting himself up with a grunt. When he stood he arched his back, crinkling his nose as his back popped a few times. “I will call a few storage companies, pack, then maybe I could trouble you to help me load a van?” he asked with a small tuck of his head. “I’m not sure I can lift everything by myself.”

You nodded furiously, clamoring to your feet with much less grace. “Sure I can but I don’t like you going back alone! Shouldn’t you...I could call some people, we can get you out of there before she gets home. What if she-” 

Once again Hector turned his concern to you, reaching out to squeeze your shoulder, stabilizing you. His expression was much more….collected than it had been just moments ago. His injured eye was nearly swollen shut, but the other was free from tears. Even the lines in his forehead had smoothed to what you describe as a cool confidence. “She won’t. I need to do this first. It will help me clear my head. And now I have a plan of what to do next.” His lisp twisted in a wry smile. “Well, not much of a plan, but a start is better than were I was this morning.”

You thought you’d want to scream, refuse, but something in his tone cooled the burning sensation in your skin. You loathed the idea of him going back to the effective war zone but you couldn’t bring yourself to doubt him. If this was what he thought he needed to do….then…

“Okay, but can I call you? To make sure you are safe?”

A smile tugged at his lips, the hand not squeezing your arm went to his pocket. “Yes, of course. That’s a good idea. I’ll try to keep it on me, in case I need to contact you sooner.” 

You thought back bitterly to the night you’d been drinking with Sypha as you entered his number into your phone. Of all the ways you’d imagined getting his number, finally, you had never imagined it’d be under such garbage circumstances.

_____

The both of you had left the shelter not long after. Maria had been busy with people at the desk but a silent eye conversation between the two of you confirmed that yes,it was fine you were leaving and to just give a call to update her later. Hector had carefully made sure to wave, giving a pained look while trying to still hide half his face behind hair. She’d shaken her head and waved him off. When Hector started to voice his apologies to you outside you’d insisted she would understand, and that he could always come by again to talk with her once this mess was sorted.

You volunteered your car for the rest of the day to help him get anything else he needed. He’d tried to offer you gas money and lunch but you’d bantered back, insisting that this was actually a favor for you so you didn’t have to take him back home right away. When you managed a genuine laugh out of him you’d nearly cried. You could feel at your core you were unstable, but you would hold together for now. 

Hector didn’t ask for much, one run to the hardware store to get some cardboard boxes, small tools, and lots of duct tape. You stopped for a quick bite on the way, managing to get a small plastic bag of ice for Hector’s eye while he went to the restroom. Lunch was had in the car so you two wouldn’t be bothered by people inside. You rolled the windows down, watching side eyed while Hector alternated basking in the sun and cooling his eye. 

You’d admit to yourself later you’d dawdled in the store, making conversation where you could while helping Hector carry what he meant to purchase. More than once you’d gotten a dirty look from people in the store, only realizing after a bit that they had made some nasty assumptions about the two of you. You felt yourself flush red with anger and shame, embarrassed they’d even assume that from you without knowing anything about the situation. The fourth time Hector noticed it too and quickly floated to your side, giving you a wide smile. He made a comment a little louder than the rest of your conversation that spun a story about that “crazy drunk guy” you two had seen “last night”. It seemed to quell the last group at least, though afterwards the two of you beelined for the checkout.

____

“You’re sure about this?” It was the third time you’d asked. Your car was parked across the street from the townhouse. The place looked nothing out of the ordinary on it’s own, but you could practically imagine dark clouds and a miasma seeping out from under the door. Hector nodded, eyes also fixed on the house.

“Yes. I need to do this for myself. And I have your number should anything...” He inhaled deeply, shoulders slumping on the exhale. “Should anything happen.”

You could feel his reluctance to get out of the car, but also knew time was of the essence. The sooner things could be packed away, the less chance Carmilla would have to get into his things and take anything petty. Your gut churned again, imagining coming here to help him once he was ready to go if she would be there. Would she pick a fight? You’d be ready to throw her down the street by her overly processed white hair, but Hector had been pretty serious about wanting to avoid any legal action as much as possible. Probably because most of his money was aiming towards school. But if Carmilla had been able to throw Hector around then you wouldn’t be much of a deterrent.

But...you did know three people who might do.

“Hey,” you started, looking over your shoulder at Hector with a smirk. He met your gaze with a confused shake of the head, but a grin was tugging at his lips. “Would you be interested in a moving crew?”

“A moving crew?” he questioned, one eyebrow peaking up elegantly. “Is that your nicest way of saying you’re going to hire a hitman?”

You snorted a laugh, waving a wand at him. “Okay, maybe not a moving crew. But three extra sets of hands to help move things and to…” You bobbed your head side to side, trying to think of the nicest way to say scare Carmilla out of trying anything. “Keep us safe. One is my best friend since we were kids, and she has two boyfriends. Both of them are strong as fuck and Trevor has enough street knowledge, he’d probably know how to get us out if Carmilla did try to call the police or anything.”

“You think they’d want to help?” Hector asked softly, causing you to whip your head to meet his gaze. “They don’t know me.”

“No, they don’t” you mused, wondering how much you should tell him that Sypha already knew. Though admittedly most of those details were tipsy whines about how nice his eyes were. “But they’d want to anyway. They’re all really good people like that. Besides, it sounds like you could use some more friends.”

He gave a rueful smile at that, eyes going back to the house. “That...would be nice. And it would make things go faster. I would feel better knowing you had people to keep you safe, I don’t know if I could stop Carmilla if she did something so stupid as to attack you too.”

Stupid indeed, you thought giving the townhouse a sneer. If you didn’t tear her apart, Sypha would before passing the remains for ‘the boys’ to dispose of. “Want me to call them now? You could introduce yourself if that would make you feel better about it?”

Hector weighed the option with a hum. “Alright, let’s do that,” he said, lowering the window on his door to drain some of the melted ice from the impromptu ice pack before replacing it on his eye. “I’d want to thank them before getting them involved.”

You pressed the speed dial for Sypha, putting the phone on speaker while you waited for her to pick up. Since it was still summer she shouldn’t have any classes to be teaching. Plus it was late enough in the day-

“What’s wrong?” Sypha’s voice chirped through the speaker. “You never call unless something is wrong, is everything alright?”

Right, she did have a point about that. “Hey Sypha,” you replied back, breathing out the false chipper aire you’d been preparing to use. “I’m okay, I’m with Hector…”

“Oh! Is he there? I can hear the echo, I’m on speaker?”

“Yes.”

“Hi Hector!”

You stifled a snort behind your hand, moving the phone to sit in the center console between yours and Hector’s seats. He gave you a look with his uncovered eye and you nodded, egging him on.

“Hello Sypha.” He sounded nervous, being careful not to jostle the icebag on his eye. “I-”

“Wait,” Sypha cut him off, causing both yours and Hector’s eyebrows to go up. “If you’re calling me with him there, I’m guessing you’re not at the shelter. But you shouldn’t be done for another few hours.” 

Hector stared at you, your response boiling down to a little shrug. She was quick with picking apart unspoken details, sometimes a little too quick.

“What’s going on? Who is it?” a rough masculine voice could be heard in the background.

“It’s Y/N, and I don’t know- that’s what I’m asking!”

“She never calls you unless something is wrong,” another man’s voice added in, a bit lower pitched and lethargic than the first.

“That’s what I- ugh!” Sypha scoffed into the microphone amid the sound of shuffling fabric. “Just shut up and let me talk to them!”   
  
“Are they always like this?” Hector asked quietly, leaning in a bit closer to try and speak away from the phone. You rolled your eyes and nodded with an overdramatic shrug of your shoulders. That would be an understatement. Hector bit his lip to restrain a laugh and shook his head, settling back into his seat.

“Sypha,” you said clearly, causing the rukus of voices on the other side of the line to still. “I can give you the…” you stalled, glancing at Hector with wide eyes. You’d forgotten to ask him exactly how much detail he wanted shared. He offered a not and a quirk of his lips into a smile. “I’ll give you the long version later. But for now I need a favor.” 

“To be more specific,” Hector spoke up, weighing the icepack between his hands. “I have a favor to ask, and Y/N has been so kind as to recommend you.”

Another twittering of voices was heard on the line, the two hushed men asking who the hell that was and Sypha spitting out Hector’s name and receiving affirmative grunts in response. There was also a clear beep as Sypha presumably put her phone on speaker as well.

“Things with my...fiance, have...gotten worse. Reached a turning point.”   
  
“How free are you three for the next couple of days?” you cut in, the tension of watching Hector clearly struggle to find the wording making you jumpy. “Short story is he needs to move out soon and quickly.”   
  
“I have two clients in the morning, but I can call in an emergency,” the lower more lethargic voice sounded. 

“I have nothing. Trevor?” 

A heavy sigh could be heard along with a flipping of paper. “Shit, let me look. Keep talking.”

“Hector?” Sypha perked up again, causing the man in question to start a little. “When you say gotten worse, I assume you mean gotten violent?”

Hector gave a small nod, before seeming to remember she wasn’t in the car. “Yes. I’m sporting a very ugly black eye at the moment.”

Three sharp hisses of breath could be heard on the line. 

“Belmont, surely you can cancel some of your appointments?”

“Look, normally I would, yes, but tomorrow is- fuck, of course it would be the busiest day.”   
  
“Trevor, this is more important!”   
  
“I know, Sypha!”   
  
Hector chewed on his lip and leaned towards the phone again, clearing his throat. “I don’t mean to cause any trouble. I can-”    
  
“No!” All three voices responded at once, making Hector jerk his head back. He gave you a pleading look and you shrugged again. 

“Sorry, once they’re on a mission there’s no stopping them,” you said softly as the chorus started up again, snipping remarks about time tables and money concerns. 

“Even if they haven’t met me?”

You shook your head, carefully lifting the phone again so the noise would stop echoing into itself from the cup holders. “Doesn’t matter. They’re like that.”

Hector gave a soft chuckle, gingerly placing the ice to his eye again. “They’re good people.”

“We’re not good, we just have more of a moral compass than his fiance!” Trevor’s voice hissed through the phone. “Look, what day were you thinking? I can’t work with clearing a week.”

Hector and your eyes met, both having mirroring eyes of worry. You really didn’t want to leave Hector there longer than necessary, and he didn’t seem to be keen on going back at all. Was it crazy to say tonight? Probably. Not to mention he’d said he’d wanted time to sort things himself…

“I could be ready tomorrow morning, or the day after.” His eyes were on your face when he said it, like he was trying to quell your fears about the situation instead of his own. “Y/N offered that I could stay with her until I found a new place, so I just need to move things to a storage unit. And a truck.”   
  
“Shame Trevor’s is in the shop this week,” Sypha lamented into the phone. “But we could pick one up for the day easily enough.”

Trevor’s muttered swears hissed in the background, accompanied by a final sound of what was presumably his planner being slammed shut. “I can’t clear the morning, but I can cancel the afternoon.”

“Sypha and I could go there in the morning, get things started. Once you’ve freed up you could meet us there.”   
  
“Not a chance.”

Both Sypha and a other male voice sighed, and you along with them. The bickering resumed and to leaned to rest your elbow on the center console while your head tilted back to stare at the roof of the car. Hector’s eyes couldn’t seem to find a resting spot, flickering between you and the phone. Everything about his expression seemed to be wondering if this had been a good idea after all but you give him a side smile and a small wave with your free hand. Unconventional was their style, right down to how they communicated.

“Belmont, look, with four of us there it should be safe enough. At worst we’ll stall, call the police.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better. No one should be at that house in the first place.”

You and Hector exchanged glances between each other and the house, willing that the trio on the line wouldn’t ask exactly where you two were sitting to have this conversation.

There was a pause on the line, you flicked your finger across the screen to make sure the phone hadn’t died. Another moment passed before there was a very audible sigh. Something Hector was going to find out upon meeting these three in person was that half of their conversations were carried out through eye contact and gestures as soon as the topic turned serious.

“Fine. You two go on ahead, I will call you when I am on the way. But if she so much as pulls into the driveway you are to call the police and leave, do you understand?” 

“We will take every precaution,” Adrian’s voice replied, sounding more than a little smug.

“That goes for you two as well!” You and Hector sat up in your seats as the voice clearly turned directly into the phone. “Hector, if she so much as picks up a plate-”   
  
“Then I will leave.” 

“We will worry about getting the van and drive it over once you give the call.” Sypha’s voice was now prominent again. More squabbling could be heard in the background but the tones were more docile and the words more affectionate. You thought you heard the smacking sound of a kiss followed by more furious spitting from Trevor, which caused you to huff a laugh through your nose. Hector must have caught it as well, because he covered his mouth with his hand and leaned back from the phone to chuckle softly.  “Will ten o’clock be too early?”

“No, she will have gone to work by then. I have the sneaking suspicion she won’t think I’m serious, so she shouldn’t call in or anything.”

“Joke’s on her then,” you chipped in, earning a little smile from Hector.  “Thank you Sypha, you’re the best.” You nearly choked up again, a small wave of relief riding over you. While you knew you’d have been more than willing to try and orchestrate this whole thing yourself it was a huge relief to know there’d be more people to handle things. The relief seemed to soften the worry lines on Hector’s face as well, who’d finally dumped the rest of the ice out the window and was rolling up the plastic bag to stuff inside the shopping bags. 

You hung up the phone after relaying Hector’s address and promising six more times that you would let them know the second something changed. Finally you slumped back in the driver's seat, running a hand through your hair. Well tomorrow would be interesting. If nothing else those three would be good for keeping things humorous in an otherwise mildly terrifying situation. 

“I should get going.” Hector’s voice brought you back with a start. Right, before anything else you needed to let Hector go back inside. Alone. Even though it was at his request you felt that familiar guilt pool in your stomach again. Maybe if you’d acted on your gut instinct back at that party this could have been avoided. As for what you could’ve done at that time you had no idea. But that nagging feeling permeated your thoughts until a gentle hand on your shoulder forced your eyes from trying to glare holes through the front door to rest on Hector’s face. His bruised eye was less swollen now, you could see the blue peaking out amid the broken blood vessels. You tried to force a smile but it failed miserably, causing creases in Hector’s forehead. “I will call you should anything happen.”

“Would you call me anyway?” The question was out and running before you could stop it. “Just to let me know everything is going okay and that I’m still coming here tomorrow. That we’re getting you out of here tomorrow.” 

Hector’s lips pulled to a frown. He worried the inside of his cheek between his teeth for a moment, looking back at the front door like it might be eavesdropping. “If I can’t call, I will text you.” 

It wasn’t the answer you wanted but you tried to process it all the same. Hector still knew Carmilla the best, even now you could see the weighing of different scenarios playing out behind his eyes. If there would be a reason he couldn’t call it would be a good one. That was how Hector always handled himself at the shelter as well. Never reckless, always with intention, even if the result didn’t always pan out. You’d have to trust him in this case, like he was trusting you to arrive tomorrow with a cavalry.

You’d already felt as though you’d let him down once. It was not going to happen again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, this one is longer than the previous two combined. Was going to be longer but I split it into two. Next time we're getting our boy out of there, thank you for hanging in there.
> 
> Bonus points for NyamiRose yet again for beta-ing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long, but thank you to those who left such sweet comments. They really gave me the motivation to get this going again.

‘This is what kills me’, you thought as you continued to stare at the living room ceiling. ‘Fucking waiting for a phone call. From a man.’

It had been at maximum two hours since you’d dropped off Hector, thoroughly debating waiting outside his house to keep an eye on things but knowing that from a logical standpoint you’d be of no use if Carmilla got you arrested. You’d gone home, cleaned the place with a fiendish fury, showered, and spent the last hour and fifteen minutes browsing every single channel on TV and every movie in your possession. You’d even managed to fit in clearing away a small corner of the room for anything Hector was going to bring with him and brought out some sheets and the air mattress to set up the living room into a temporary bedroom. And yet despite all that you still had time to stress. 

He was busy. Packing up everything in preparation to move out in one night was not typically a thing one did. He’d probably also tried to have a civil conversation with…her. Logistics of who takes what, even though he’d made it fairly clear he was only interested in taking what was strictly his. Which was incredibly unfair and he was probably going to lose a lot in this and that just-

The pillow nearest your arm got chucked across the door, hitting with a very unsatisfactory puff of air. You glared after it for a moment, berating it for not taking away more of your building tension but gave in with a sigh to go retrieve it and replace it on the couch. Just had to keep it together, he’d call when he could. If he could. 

For the twelfth time you checked to make sure your phone volume was on, and then proceeded to lose a year off your life when it buzzed in your hand. The blip of excitement in your heart crashed back to the ground when you say it was a text from Sypha instead. But based of the preview of the message reading “Any news!?”, it was clear you weren’t the only one stressing about this. If you knew her at all she was probably pacing the living room, which in turn was making Trevor more nervous. He would then take that out on Adrian until finally Sypha would be distracted by trying to keep the two of them from going at it. You almost wished you could be in the middle of that. Then at least you’d be busy with something.

_ Y/N: Nothing yet :(  _

_ Sypha: Damn it. Do you think he’s okay? _

_ Y/N: It’s only been two hours… _

_ Sypha: I know, but that’s two hours! Maybe you should call him? _

You chewed your lip, the idea had more than once crossed your mind. Of course you could, but should you? If there was going to be an almighty row over him leaving just over the relationship going sour, you could only imagine that a sudden phone call from another woman would do nothing to help the situation.

_ Sypha: Nevermind, Trevor said that’s a bad idea. _

You snorted a laugh, flopping unceremoniously to the couch and burying your face in one of the throw pillows. If Trevor was dishing out what was a bad idea everything must’ve really been going to shit. Resituating so you were being propped up by the pillow you flipped through your phone to find Hector’s contact. Maybe...maybe just a text? A casual “Hey if you don’t call me in the next 20 minutes I’m going to break down your front door to make sure you’re okay”? Risky, at best. 

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

It was 2 in the morning when you finally got a text from Hector. You’d been lying in bed, half awake, counting the ticks from the clock on your wall. When the alert went off you nearly threw the phone off your bed with the full body lurch you made to grab it. You pulse was ringing in your ears when you unlocked it to read.

_ Hector: I’m sorry this is so late, I hope you’re not still awake... _

_ Y/N: Hey, is everything okay?! _

_ Hector: Yes, everything is okay, I’m sorry I can’t call. She’s asleep. _

You huffed an irritated breath, turning on your bedside lamp and sitting up properly. You could care less if the bitch never slept a wink for the rest of her life.

__ Y/N: It’s fine, are you getting everything packed okay? She didn’t make a fuss?   
  
Hector: I don’t think she believes I’m serious yet. She entertained everything, left me to pack. She said she’s going to work tomorrow so to not keep her up.

Of all the self centered, stupid, egotistical- You were positively fuming, clenching your fist in a nearby pillow before promptly tossing it in frustration.

_ Y/N: Then she’s in for a surprise tomorrow. Think you’ll still be ready in the morning? _

_ Hector: Yes, I think so. Thank you again, I will have to thank you properly once this is over :) _

Your eyes narrowed on the last message, feeling a heat creep up the back of your neck. He...didn’t mean that the way you hoped he did. Of course not. He probably meant buying dinner or something of that nature. Still that did nothing to quell the sudden realization that he was going to be in your apartment tomorrow night, completely skipping the imaginary dating phase you’d imagined in your head countless times. Hell, you thought squeezing your thighs together and shimmying under your duvet, this was going to be maddening.

You sent a few more messages back and forth, getting some vague numbers of how much space he thought he’d need in a truck, which really could be done with a soccer van in a pinch. You had the sinking feeling that tomorrow you’d be seeing a lot of things being left behind, and while you were in no place to tell him what he should and shouldn’t be taking your gut clenched at the thought of any pained glances you might see him give. Having to leave your home because the person you thought you’d be spending your life with suddenly turning on you...awful.

However Hector was processing the situation, he didn’t let it show. He sent you some progress pictures, captions over boxes with mild complaints and others with dust trails left behind shelves he was clearing off with barfing emojis. Despite yourself you were laughing into your hands, giggling and re-situating every five minutes like a girl in high school getting a simple ‘hi’ back from her first crush. Idly you wondered if he was still, even in a dangerous place, trying to cheer you up. You stayed up until he finally said he was done, and was going to try and catch a few hours of rest before you would show up. 

_ Hector: Maybe with coffee? I think that’s going to be required... _

You smirked, rolling your eyes and flopping back among your pillows. Right, that’s what was important to be worrying about in the morning.

_ Y/N: Dark roast with two sugars, got it. _

 

* * *

 

Hector had made the correct call with the coffee, you’d spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in a fruitless attempt to sleep. By the time the sun was high enough for you to justify getting up and getting ready to roll you knew you might look a bit like the reaper. You picked up a dozen donuts to go with the coffee, figuring it never hurt to bribe your moving crew with sugar. You’d consumed two by the time you arrive at Hector’s block. Blessedly there was no car waiting in front of his house, so you crossed your fingers that your assumption was right in Carmilla having already left for work.

You chose a spot on the opposite side of the street to park, wanting to leave the driveway open in front for the truck when Sypha arrived. No sooner had you gotten outside, coffee holder carefully balanced in one hand when you heard the open and shut of a door behind you. Over your shoulder you saw Hector approach, damp hair clinging to the sides of his face.

“Good morning! I’m sorry, I lost track of time”, he said, gesturing with a hand to his hair. It looked much longer when wet, brushing the tops of his shoulders.

“Oh, it’s fine, I might be early,” you hurried to cover, nearly dropping the coffee when you noted how his grey T-shirt was also clinging a bit too tightly to his frame. He’d probably just came from the shower. Your eyes then jumped back to his face and the still very dark bruise around his eye. The swelling had gone down, he seemed to be able to keep his eye open a little easier now, but the blue-purple flowering pattern was still very evident. You were grateful you hadn’t slept very well, otherwise you might have had the energy to fly into a fit of rage about it again. “Coffee?” You held the tray out for him, which he gladly accepted to free up your hands.

“Yes, thank you. Are...are your friends still coming?” he asked softly, ducking his chin a little.

“Yup, in an hour or so. I thought we could move things out front, or if you need help with packing anything.”

Hector shook his head. “No. I have most everything together, it might just be the lifting that’s a problem. Or getting them through the door…” You watched him sway on his feet, squeezing his eyes shut tight for a moment. He must have been up all night after all…

You opened the back door to your car to grab the donut box, kicking it shut with your heel. Hector was staring into the void that was the gaps in your rear hubcap, but snapped out of it when you placed a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon, let’s get you caffeinated up,” you said gently. He smiled, eyes softening as he muttered his gratitude. 

The inside of the house was nice, though it had that eerie vibe of not being lived in. Everything was too clean, too centered, if you hadn’t just been led inside by one of the main occupants you might’ve thought this was a display model. There weren’t even any living plants, just plastic lilies that had a polished shine about them. 

Hector brought the food to the kitchen, checking the coffee labels before offering yours. “Everything is in there.” He pointed with his hand towards a small door halfway down the hall which presumably would lead to a bedroom further down. 

“What about…”

He watched your gaze travel around the living room, the sparsely populated bookshelf, the couches, the TV and sound system… “I...I don’t want to fight her for them. She can take them.” He gave a small sigh when you turned to give him a raised eyebrow and scowl. “I know, I know,  I’m not thrilled about it, but they’re not worth it to me. I just want to be done with this whole affair. Let her call it a victory and just get on with my life.” He plucked out a chocolate glazed from the donut box, eyeing it with mild contempt for a moment before biting into it. A small smile tugged at your lips. Only Hector would be able to refine his frustration down to moodily eating empty calories. 

The two of you went into the small room he’d pointed out, which was the den. There were now empty shelves lined up on one wall, a desk that had boxes piled on top of it, a rolling chair,  a loveseat, a few floor lamps, and a couple suitcases.

“I think the desk will be the most frustrating to take out, but I have some tools if we need to take anything apart,” he mused aloud, crossing the floor to flop unceremoniously into the couch. “Hopefully this isn’t too much?” he asked again, shoving some hair away from his face as the curls slowly started to spring back to life. “I was only planning on bringing those suitcases with me to your place…”

“Hector, really, it’s okay. I have more than enough room, and I’ll bet Sypha was ready to haul an entire house out if you’d asked.” You risked nudging yourself next to him on the sofa, which he scooted over on to make room for you. The two of you still ended up with thighs touching, both cradling your coffee cups like they might run off on their own. He was eyeing the boxes, shoulders drooped down. Idly you wondered what Hector’s life looked like from the perspective of the items inside. Did he have pictures? Figurines? Or just more books than you’d ever invested in?

A comfortable quiet settled over the two of you, sinking back into the couch, watching sunbeams start to creep down the walls as it rose. It was easy to be reminded of the coffee shop where you two had spent the summer talking when you weren’t wrangling cats, and prospective adopters. Maybe you could go back, once this was over. Actually…

You glanced over at him, feeling a flutter in your chest. If he was staying with you, you wouldn’t even need the shop. You could save the money and just sit at your dining room table, make breakfast and share terrible handmade attempts at lattes. The dream was so beautifully domestic but so quickly shattered when you also remembered were sitting inside the house of a very violent soon to be ex fiance, and that Hector was probably not going to be game for anything of the sort soon. That hurt, but you knew you couldn’t be mad about it. It was fair.

Hector caught you staring, offering a little smile and tilting his head at you. You straightened your back before setting your empty coffee cup on the ground and scrubbing a hand over your eyes. “Sorry, tired…”

“That’s alright.” The silence strained for a moment while you pointedly stared back out the door into the kitchen. Stupid daydreaming. “It...” he started, causing you to whip your head back. “It doesn’t hurt, though I know it looks awful.” His brows where knitted towards each other, shoulders hunching up. You feel a cold wash of shame when you realized he thought you’d just been staring at his injury, not at him.

“Oh no! That’s not...sorry, I wasn’t thinking that.” You nudged his thigh with yours, coaxing his gaze back up. Maybe it was part of a stupid romantic dream you kept harbored in your mind, but some parts were probably safe to share. “I was just thinking about the coffee shop, and that maybe we can save cash by just making coffee at my apartment for a while.”

Of all the possibilities he’d clearly been running through his head that must have not been one of them, his eyebrows bounced up and mouth opened in a small ‘o’ before he smiled, breathing a laugh through his nose. “That...yes. That sounds like a good plan. I-”

Never had the sound of a knock on a door made you jump so high in your seat. It clearly got to Hector too, his hand jumping to claw at the arm of the sofa, head turned to stare out of the office. There was a pause where you would taste your heartbeat in the back of your throat before you heard another knock. The front door. You could hear Hector taking small pants of air before a voice called from outside, immediately lifting the weight from your shoulders.

“Y/N?! Hector?!” Are you in there?” Sypha’s muffled voice sounded through the house, along with a much deeper voice murmuring afterwards.

You and Hector both looked at each other and forced a laugh, hauling up from the couch. 

“I thought-”

“Me too.”   
  
“Jesus Christ,” he swore, running a hand through his hair before trotting out of the office to go receive your friends at the front door. You followed him out, bringing both of your cups to the kitchen. 

Upon the sound of the door opening you managed to glance back just in time to see Sypha, dressed down in mom jeans and a tank top you remember her wearing in high school, do absolutely the worst job of hiding the shock in her face as she took in Hector’s injury. She never meant any harm in it, her expressions were always just too genuine, and her capability to care too much for other people was ungodly. Her lips pressed into a line as she puffed up a little before sighing into a little smile holding her arms open for a hug. “You must be Hector! Y/N’s told us so much about you.”

Hector seemed a little baffled by the gesture, giving a quick glance in your direction. You gave a sharp nod, waving at him to go ahead. Although a bit stiff, Hector did lean over, gingerly putting his arms around her while Sypha wrapped her arms around his neck in a death grip. Once she released him she bounded inside, eyeing the donuts on the counter with a delight before giving you the same death-hug treatment. For being so lithe, she had arms of whipcord. 

“Where’s Adrian? I thought I heard him?” you asked, glancing over Sypha’s head and past Hector through the front door. 

“Oh, he’s just parking the truck. We were on the other side of the street but we thought maybe the driveway was better...” she trailed off, holding her right hand to hover near the front of her mouth as she looked to Hector for confirmation. He nodded, leaning down to pick up a carved stone near the entrance to hold the door open.

“That’s fine. Carmilla should be gone for at least 5 more hours.” Both you and Sypha wrinkled your noses as the name, which got a small laugh out of Hector. “Well, with any luck we won’t have to see her at all then.”

“That’s probably for the best,” a smooth baritone voice sounded from the door. Hector and your heads whipped towards the sound, but Sypha was too busy stuffing a maple glazed donut in her mouth. Plus she had a sixth sense about her partner’s whereabouts, so she probably wasn’t surprised when he entered. His long blonde hair was tied back, a very loose braid that was draped over one shoulder. Like Sypha he’d dressed in the usual “we might be moving dirty things so don’t wear anything you care about” attire of jeans and a T-shirt. With his high cheekbones and angular features, he still make it look like he came from a magazine cover. Unlike his girlfriend, his expression was perfectly neutral as is swept over Hector’s face. He crossed the floor and held out a hand, a smile creasing the corners of his eyes. “Adrian.”

“Hector,” was the reply, as he reached out to take the other man’s hand and shake it. Your eyes darted back and forth between their gazes, it wasn’t negative but there was some tension there you couldn’t quite grasp. Like they were somehow passing a secret transmission through their palms.

“Man talk,” Sypha whispered from your elbow, polishing the remaining sugar from her fingertips with a paper towel she’d filched. “Trevor and him do that all the time. I’ve given up trying to decipher it.”

You gave a hum in agreement as the two seemed to settle whatever it was they’d ‘said’ to each other and they approached the kitchen.

“Well,” said Adrian, giving Sypha a little scowl as she started to reach for another donut. “Shall we get things started?”

* * *

Whatever the fuck was in most of Hector’s boxes were stupidly heavy, he had some trouble scooting it out of the office to settle it by the door. Adrian had given it one look and declared it would be left for Trevor to load into the truck when he arrived. So the rest of the morning was spent putting the things Hector was taking to your place into your car and starting to carefully work the more bulky but lighter pieces into the van. Sypha made sure to wrap the delicates in the rented padding material, bracing them between other boxes. Hector took apart the desk and you helped sort the pieces for easy assembly later.

About two hours into the endeavor the four of you all froze at the sound of a car screeching into the space behind the van, though thankfully only a very winded and furious looking Trevor got out of the car.

“God, fucking, damn it, Sypha!” he shouted, tugging at his hoodie as he kicked the door of his car shut. “Didn’t I tell you to keep your phone on you?!” 

A guilty looked passed over the redhead’s features for only a moment before she was firing back, “Why didn’t you just try Adrian’s phone?”

“That wasn’t the plan!”

“But you know I always forget!”

You gave a small groan and Hector appeared at your elbow, the two of you a safe distance away as Sypha crossed from the front door to the car rapidly, easily squaring up to the swearing hulk of a man nearly twice her width at the shoulders. Clearly he’d just come from work, the gym’s logo bold on his chest and his dark chestnut hair plastered to his forehead.

“Should we…” Hector started, watching as Adrian also crossed over, drawing just as much bluster towards himself as the three of them went at it. You shook your head, setting down the bag of tools you were carrying. 

“Nah, they’re fine. This is how they are.”

“You said that yesterday as well. I didn’t believe it.”

The two of you watched as the snippy words quieted, the three exchanging looks before finally yet again Trevor just heaved a sigh, drawing Sypha into his arms by her wrist and letting Adrian lean in to peck his cheek. “Don’t fucking scare me like that,” you heard him mutter, giving his best attempt of a glare at Adrian who just nodded and clapped his shoulder. 

“Come on, we have big heavy things for you to load into the van for us.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to call Syph-” his quip was just short when Sypha punched him right in the gut. You nearly seized up with laughter, Hector having the grace to turn back toward the house before chortling into his palm. You heard Trevor recover, hissing about a joke as Sypha huffed past you into the house. With a grunt she hefted the first grossly heavy box to the porch, giving Trevor a pointed look before going back inside. He seemed to get the message, traipsing up the steps. You and Hector watched with wide eyes as he squatted, got his hands under it and lifted it squarely up, half braced on his chest. Only then did he seem to notice Hector, and offered a grin in his direction. “Trevor Belmont,” he greeted, extending a hand once he’d shifted the box into the other. “You’re Hector right?”

“That’s right,” Hector replied, eyes a bit wide as he shook Trevor’s hand. “Looks like we were right to wait for you to deal with these.” 

“Yeah well have to be good for something, right?” the brunette sighed, readjusting the box is his arms before taking it easily down towards the van. “Go put some ice on your eye, it looks like a Halloween prop.”

Your mouth gaped in shock, nearly choking. God that man lacked social skills. But the sounds of barking laughter brought your eyes back up. Hector was grinning, shaking his head and turning to head back inside. When he saw your incredulous look he shrugged. “He isn’t wrong about that. And at least you know he’s honest if he says things like that.”

You couldn’t argue with that, but from the look Adrian was giving him from the van’s door it looked like the blonde might still try to teach him some manners before the day was out.

* * *

 

The rest of the packing was much more lively with the trio complete. While Sypha and Adrian brought a combination of firm but positive vibes Trevor added an energy to the mix that brought action and voice. He was snipping orders at his partners, reorganizing things in the van to a more secure structure and clarifying plans for where things would go, while still managing to ask them how their morning had gone. He’d even managed to start drawing banter out of Hector, despite how he’d been sleeping on his feet when you’d arrived this morning. 

You were grateful for it, your nerves were frayed and brain sleep deprived. As much as you wanted to be a bundle of bright and sunny energy it was not in your arsenal at the moment. So it was a relief to see Hector opening up to these new people, much like he’d begun to do at the shelter. Though he was cautious, he was also witty, and when he could quip back at Trevor with an equally as blunt retort you saw the Belmont’s eyes snap open before they’d both burst into laughter. It was almost easy to forget the situation, though you could still catch the trio glancing down out the window now and then, prepared to go on the defensive at a moment’s notice.

Once everything was packed and the den cleaned (much to the protest of Trevor and Sypha agreeing a mess was the least they could leave behind for her) you all set about deciding who was riding with who. Though you weren’t thrilled about it you and Sypha would follow behind the truck, Hector knew where the storage facility was and the trunk rental was under Adrian’s name. Trevor left ahead, going to drop off his car back to work for a final appointment and would taxi to meet up with you all later. 

Everything felt too easy.

You hated that nagging feeling in your gut, willing yourself to just be grateful things were going so smoothly. The moving truck was backed out of the driveway, you and Sypha were seated in your car, key poised at the ignition. Everything according to plan, everyone safe, but you couldn’t settle. You were ready to brush it off when you glanced in your rearview mirror and froze. A silver BMW glided down the street behind you. Sypha was poised to leap out of her side of the car when she saw the way your features hardened. You had no idea what Carmilla’s car looked like, but somehow you just knew it was her. You felt Sypha put a hand on your arm, leaning over the center console to follow the vehicle with your eyes as it pulled into the driveway, and  _ she  _ got out. The calm she had about her made you furious, she was not flying at you all like the banshee you’d painted her to be in your mind. She simply tossed back her silvery hair over her shoulder, adjusting her bag and removing her sunglasses to cast a side eye at the moving truck. 

“Let’s go,” you heard Sypha whisper and you couldn’t have agreed more. But then you heard one of the doors to the moving truck open and shut. To your horror Hector had gotten out of the passenger side and was crossing between your two vehicles to head back towards the house. 

You nearly strangled yourself trying to throw open your door and toss yourself out of it at once. Hector jolted a little when your elbow hit your car horn which made you freeze. You wanted to scream at him, throw him into the van and tell Adrian to floor it, but something about Hector’s expression gave you pause. Your pulse was in your ears but he just gave you a gentle smile and held up one finger, asking for you to wait like he was going back to fetch an umbrella not to go talk to a violent monster of a woman. You shook your head, mouth gaping a little as you tried to string together words he wouldn’t hear through your windshield but he seemed to understand anyway. He patted the hood of your car, giving a firm nod before squaring his shoulders and walking back to the house. Carmilla hadn’t moved, still poised at her car door, and watched him approach with a look you wanted to remove with a torch heated cheese grater. But while everything in your body was ready to run, his walk... it settled something in you. He was gliding forward with purpose, one hand tucked in a pocket on his hip, his hair wavy and glinting in the sun. Sypha must’ve felt it too, because the little bird-like claw on your forearm was loosening its grip and you heard her breathe for the first time in minutes. 

It felt like hours. You’d have donated a kidney to hear what was being said on that driveway, but if it weren’t for the knowledge you had about the situation nothing about the two of them looked dramatically out of place. Camilla looked mildly perturbed, gesturing between the truck and the house, Hector giving small shrugs occasionally but otherwise not shying away or backing off. They could have been neighbors discussing the weekend block party to any passerby.

Both and and Sypha nearly jumped a foot out of your skin when you heard a tapping at your window and noticed Adrian standing nearly your door, though his eyes were also on the exchange. You turned the key in the engine enough just to give the battery power to lower the window, not wanting the car noise to jostle whatever delicate negotiations Hector seemed to be leading not 100 yards away from you. 

“What’s he doing?” Sypha hissed softly, nearly in your lap as she crawled closer to Adrian. The blonde shook his head, lowering down a bit to whisper back.

“He said he needed to talk to her, no loose ends.”

“And you let him?”

Adrian shrugged, flipping his braid to the other shoulder. “You know as well as I do that the second she moves to do anything I’ll break her arm.” For half a second your eyes flickered to his face, seeing the very hard crease his eyebrows were setting as he continued to glare in their direction. You never heard him talk like that, that was usually a Trevor thing. Or a Sypha thing. “But I think he needs this.” 

You hated how right he was. That was what Hector had told you with that beautiful smile a moment ago. But you didn’t have to like it. You opened your mouth to gripe about it when you saw the conversation end. Carmilla gave a flick of her wrist and stalked towards the front door, not sparing the moving crew so much as a look before gliding into the house and slamming the front door shut behind her. Hector watched, shoulders bunching up before dropping down in a sigh. You felt your friends shift around you but your eyes stayed glued to Hector as you saw his shoulders shake. Then you saw him turn on his heel and approach you with a grin on his face. Laughing, not crying. He plucked a small key ring from his pocket, giving it a few tosses in his palm before crossing to toss them unceremoniously into the mailbox at the end of the drive. Sypha was giggling at your elbow, shaking you a little as you felt a smile creep onto your face as well. Hector looked so damn pleased with himself, smug even, as he waved at you all and jogged back across the street. 

“We should go, or Trevor will chew you out again if we’re late,” he told Adrian, who went from mild stunned to his usual serene cool expression. The blonde nodded and went back to the driver’s side of the truck while Hector approached your car, squatting down a little to look in better through the window. Close up you could see a little sweat around his brow, a little red in his eyes. Hardly the crystalline image of confidence you’d thought you’d seen a second ago, but there was nothing fake about his smile. It was conflicted, nervous, but excited, and all you could do was smile back.

“Everything okay?” you asked softly, hearing your voice warble for a moment before clearing your throat. Hector gave a little nod, glancing back at the house a last time before meeting your eyes.

“Yes, I think so. At least it will be. But for now, let’s just get this all unpacked so we can go for lunch, my treat.”

“Yes please!” Sypha chirped before you could argue, bouncing back into her seat as Hector laughed at her enthusiasm. 

You still felt wordless, wanting to ask Hector what’d he’d said what she’d thought and if it was really so easy to pack up and leave and that she wouldn’t come after him with a legal filing later and that- 

He seemed to understand, his eyes softening a bit. Your gaze crossed over his bruises and he shrugged, squeezing his tired eyes shut for a moment. He looked exhausted, but relieved. When his eyes opened again they were brighter and the corner of his mouth quirked into a little smirk. He gave you a little nod before leaving the window, dragging his fingertips back across the hood of your car as he went to climb back into the truck. You felt a chill roll up your spine before a teasing hum from your passenger side seat snapped you out of it and you revved life into the car before Sypha could pick apart the blush rising up your neck.

It wasn’t easy, but this part at least was over. And it would get better.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaay boy can finally crack a smile and we won't be seeing that bitch again. OR WILL WE?!
> 
> NyamiRose beta'd again, so send all your blessings and affection her way otherwise this stuff usually wouldn't end up public.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting anything here, so we'll see how this goes. Might be a bit slow to start, but there's kinky shit on the horizon in chapters to come don't worry. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
> 
> This was based on many conversations I've had with NyamiRose, so if you notice any similarities between this and her works don't worry, we know.


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